Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2ml
Earthquake near Kernville, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Kernville in the 24 hours to 3:38 am PST (11:38 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 11 km (7 mi) NE, at 9:35 am PDT on 21 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Kernville
This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 17 km (10 mi) east of Kernville, CA, at 8:13 am PDT on 28 September 2018 (15:13 UTC), 8.9 km deep. 9 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 16km E of Kernville, CA
86 km (53 mi) ENE of Bakersfield, CA
- When
- 8:13 am PDT on 28 September 2018 ()
- Where
- 17 km (10 mi) east of Kernville, CA · earthquakes near Kernville
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 9 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Kern County, 65 km SW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Kern Canyon fault, 16 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1557 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Kernville, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 45 km (28 mi) from the epicentre. In Kernville, 17 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Likely felt in: Wofford Heights 21 km, intensity II · Bodfish 31 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,800 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 190,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,500× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,800 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.9× more
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.3 The 1946 Walker Pass, California Earthquake · 28 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.4 14km NW of Inyokern, CA · 28 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.4 4km N of Inyokern, CA · 40 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.2 8km NE of Inyokern, CA · 46 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.2 15km NNE of Inyokern, CA · 42 km E of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 35.7772, -118.2445. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kern County, CA | 65 km (40 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Kern County |
| Tulare County, CA | 70 km (43 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Inyo County, CA | 115 km (72 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Inyo County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
46 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 8km NE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.5 22km W of Inyokern, CA
- 1.9 15km SSW of Olancha, CA
- 1.6 16km NNE of Kernville, CA
- 2.1 8km WNW of Little Lake, CA
- 1.8 20km SSE of Bodfish, CA
- 1.7 13km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.6 8km ENE of Coso Junction, CA
- 1.9 12km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.6 14km S of Bodfish, CA
- 1.6 13km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.7 22km ESE of Bodfish, CA
- 2.4 12km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 1.7 12km NE of Little Lake, CA
- 2.3 12km NE of Little Lake, CA
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.